You are here

Official College Holidays

Mount Holyoke College holidays for staff members who work at least 20 hours per week for the academic year or fiscal year, are:

Independence Day*

Labor Day (first Monday in September)

Thanksgiving (from Wednesday noon through Friday)

Christmas (includes last working day before and first working day after Christmas Day)

New Year's Day*

Martin Luther King Day

Memorial Day (last Monday in May)

*When Independence Day or New Year's Day fall on a Tuesday, all offices and departments of the College will be closed on that day, and on the preceding Monday. When Independence Day or New Year's Day fall on a Thursday, all offices and departments of the College will be closed on that day, and on the Friday immediately following the holiday.

Employees may also choose two (2) additional days as paid holidays. These days may be other federal or state holidays, religious holidays, or any other day(s) the employee may choose to be approved by the academic chair or department head.

The College will permit some additional flexibility to offices during the workdays between Christmas and New Years holidays. The College will not officially close during this period; however, individual offices may close if operational needs permit, and if all members of the office wish to take the time off. (e.g.: vacation, floating holiday)

The College holiday schedule is subject to modification from time to time. You should refer to the official College holiday schedule issued each spring for the following fiscal year.

The amount of holiday pay for full-time employees is the normal base pay for the holiday hours. Part-time employees who work at least 20 hours per week will receive prorated holiday pay based upon their percentage of full-time work whether or not they are scheduled to work the day on which the holiday falls.

On some holidays, your office or department may be required to remain open even if operating at a reduced staff. If you are an employee required to work on such a holiday, you will be given another day off with pay in lieu of that holiday, provided you have the approval of your academic chair or department head. If you work overtime during a week in which you have taken a holiday and have not worked that holiday, those holiday hours will be considered as “hours worked” for the purpose of calculating overtime pay.

If you are on leave of absence without pay, you are not entitled to a holiday which occurs during this leave. Academic year employees, for example, would not be paid for the Independence Day or Labor Day holidays.

If you are absent on paid sick leave, bereavement leave, vacation leave, or jury or witness duty, and an official College holiday should fall within the period of authorized leave, you should refer to that specific employee benefit policy in this handbook.

If your employment should terminate for any reason, you will not be entitled to any holiday pay after your last day worked. If you are a temporary employee, or if you work less than 20 hours per week for the academic or fiscal year, you are not eligible for College holidays. However, you may, with the permission of your department head, make up any hours of work lost on a holiday on another workday.

Because of the varied religious practices of Mount Holyoke employees, academic chairs and department heads are encouraged to grant time off for the observance of religious holidays or practices.